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Theft of the Commons

by No Bird Sing

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  • Theft of The Commons CD
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1.
Verse: Paint that hack with a red knapsack Dig a little dirt turn a red hand black Don’t slap that ‘ sip that honey Drink that milk ‘ get that money making bad news for a baboon in a track suit with a tattoo of the statue of liberty Listen to me, where’d you get that ring from boy? Off what frozen hand? Just one word loose and the whole thing falls to the ground like a noose Same o’ truce ‘ Brand new break You could see it in the way that he walked He was not designed to be a plastic man Sitting on the couch having plastic thoughts Not designed to be a plastic man Sitting on the couch having plastic thoughts Pre-Chorus: Whatever that apothecary put into my jar It made me wanna forget that my body is made of stars [My body is made stars] There’s fires in all the graves [Those fires will never die] We keep killing all the flames Chorus: For dear Pearl ‘ Five years old Six if you count that nine in the belly Mona Lisa never looked to so good as when she showed her teeth to that first lit match ‘ flicked by dawn There’s fires in the graves cuz they can’t stop killing ‘em young Verse: Flesh and the blood Wear that guilt ‘til it fits like a glove Gift and a hug ‘ All wrung out Tongue in the rafters ‘ hung from the mouth Play that clarinet ‘ but don’t forget What you’re getting ‘ in return Slow to dry ‘ quick to burn King fish pout with a hook in the eye Born in the dark ‘ trying to look at the sky to remember ‘ where he comes from Ask him why ‘ go ’head ask him why Ask him why ‘ go on ask him She never looked so good as when she’s close to home Token grief ‘ helicopter blades and broken arrow tips on sugar cane trunks of ice ‘ there’s your slogan pusherman left behind those pipered mice to crack the whip and still such chaos Native sons ‘ handed live grenades at their conception just so there’s no doubt ‘ they’ll be born to be a weapon Chorus: For dear Pearl ‘ Five years old Six if you count that nine in the belly Mona Lisa never looked to so good as when she showed her teeth to that first lit match ‘ flicked by dawn There’s fires in the graves cuz they can’t stop killing ‘em young For dear Pearl ‘ Five years old Six if you count that nine in the belly Mona Lisa never looked to so good as when she showed her teeth to that first lit match ‘ flicked by dawn There’s fires in the graves cuz they can’t stop killing ‘em young
2.
Afterlife Insurance (free) 02:36
Verse: Baby I’m an angle Been born as a man Even though I act like I’m black or white Most nights I am both rain and shine Living in the distance between the nightmares and the daydreams That’s the way we were before we were the nightmares and the daydreams That’s the way we were before we got thrown to the street Won the right to think though ‘ for ourselves No it’s not perfection but it’s peace from a silhouette too afraid of his disease to do a damn thing about it so he had to s-scream about it on top of the roof Listened for existence and took it as the proof But hey Mr. wait though you still need a brush big enough to paint you a saint before it gets too late it’s a fool’s fate to go to hell now Poor man die ‘ Rich man gon’ die too Get a cash cow in the sky and life is a lullaby Chorus: When I get back from heaven Everything’s gonna be right where I left it Verse: Like the new paper sack that I stashed on the moon One skin says me the other skin says you Twins from the same old mother So feed that tale to the snake man Under the lake the mermaids aren’t quite that pretty Really is a shame the ocean’s so far away It’s hard to say how far exactly I haven’t been that far before I just died my water fake blue Made me feel so wonderful I just died my water fake blue Made me feel so wonderful Chorus: When I get back from heaven Everything’s gonna be right where I left it When I get back from heaven Everything’s gonna be super cool When I get back from heaven I’m gonna take a nap out by my pool So when I get back from heaven/ That water better be all kinds of blue/
3.
My Machine 02:58
Chorus: This is my machine, I can make him do anything Make him get a credit card and buy up the mini mall Try all you wanna try to pry him out my cold hand Nothing feels better than a warm piece of plastic It’s is my machine ‘ I’ll make it do anything// Verse: My side of the bed Give a goddamn what the medicine says Better not let it get under that skin or risk getting mislabeled as a symptom real quick Took death off the table ‘ Stood him up and asked him for a dance If you’re looking for romance ‘ You wanna be lied to Made up your mind? ‘ Then you’re ready to lie too Doorbell rang twice Never met a salesman who smiled so nice Seemed like a sheep to me Even though he had fangs where his teeth should be Told such funny ol’ jokes Not from around here but he still spoke The King’s Eng-lish til it broke Next thing you know I’m handing over my keys for a rope Chorus 2: This is my machine, I can make him do anything Put him in a uniform and squeeze ‘til he’s empty Please don’t tempt me to make him go spastic Nothing smells worse than a burnt piece of plastic It’s is my machine ‘ I’ll make it do anything// Verse: Better alive than dead Give a goddamn what the patriot says What a nice plot that you got there sir It’s a lot better than not having a spot to call home once you’ve gone cold Tomb’s getting cozy man nothing but company Road littered with accidents How did it happen? ‘ it’s not in the plan Running outta the way? Or running outta demand? Of course they’d split it if they knew where to put it Where would they put it? Down in your grave? What’re you insane? Of course they’d split it if they knew where to put it Where would they put it? Down in your grave? What’re you insane? [and dead] It’s a waste of inherited space and that’s a sin
4.
Night Lights (free) 04:36
Intro: This city was made out of irrigated rainwater Back when the black eyed sky made gifts Not since then has a sun-drenched lip known bliss like a drought stamped out by a first kiss Verse: Send the misfit to reclaim the throne It’s the last hope ‘ for the glass rope woven outta the notion that we’re alone here nobody can see us ‘ hear us turning in our sleep the panic on the street says: reinvent the polls re-release the manifesto ‘ re-reacting to the fact that we let her go Much wiser then but tempted by the ignorants who saw blue and assumed that she was infinite Just like that last little bastard offspring trying to pass judgment as offering Swore up and down that the stars were as pretty as pearls if we turn out the night lights the city’s gon’ burn bright All that neon gas lay broke as every last word spoken in defense of his name [in defense of his name] Chorus: Your night lights are never gonna burn the same They’re never gonna burn the same Verse: Let’s see how this’ll come together now that we destroyed the weathervane Shed the same blood ‘ just think of all the trust we’ve gained with the choir ‘ yea but swan song is symphony these days old folks waiting on that western flame to cold smolder and change form Company dimes ‘ bled dry in the fist of a rainstorm All we ever wanted was power so we built a machine to hide the ghosts pulling strings in the tower We went to summer sub-culture camp to beat cancer Opened the body mass and salted it back shut You can be a nuisance or you can join the fan club but you’re in no position to stand and put both your hands up It’s not an answer ‘ not this far away It’s just the part where your heartbeat starts to break It’s not an answer ‘ not this far away It’s just the part where your heartbeat starts to break Chorus: Your night lights are never gonna burn the same They’re never gonna burn the same
5.
Chorus: Cool Hand Luke ‘ Luke was a liar Nothing but plastic ‘ on his dashboard He played those cards ‘ just like a liar Gave those people ‘ what they asked for Cool Hand Luke ‘ Luke was a liar Wasn’t no Kings ‘ in his hand Had those boys ‘ afraid of the fire Well those boys shoulda been Afraid of that man Said Cool Hand Luke ‘ Luke was a liar And those good ol’ boys ‘ ate it off his plate He stole the soul ‘ of that trigger man Well that cool hand died ‘ with a smile on his face [I don’t believe him anymore ‘ that picture was a fake] Verse: Bet the coin of the realm ‘ would glow in the dark like fair trade could really teach us better than sparks cut from our own hollow bones And smoke bitten lungs Taken from our cradles ‘ when they rightfully slept there If you believe in ownership so much come take my furniture If you believe in evil why you speak it in tongues? Looks like fun, that angry mob ‘ Innocent in their face paint Safely tucked inside all of those zeros and ones There’s nothing more to them now than animated clay I don’t believe ‘em anymore ‘ the picture is a fake There’s nothing more to them now than animated clay I don’t believe ‘em anymore ‘ the picture is a fake Chorus: Cool Hand Luke ‘ Luke was a liar Nothing but plastic ‘ on his dashboard He played those cards ‘ just like a liar Gave those people ‘ what they asked for Cool Hand Luke ‘ Luke was a liar Wasn’t no Kings ‘ in his hand Had those boys ‘ afraid of the fire Well those boys shoulda been Afraid of that man Said Cool Hand Luke ‘ Luke was a liar And those good ol’ boys ‘ ate it off his plate He stole the soul ‘ of that trigger man Well that cool hand died ‘ with a smile on his face
6.
Chorus: When I was little all I wanted was a big big gun so I never had to settle on a target Then I figured I could dip my feather in the sun and write a letter to the genie in my pocket that said I wish I had 99 lives or at least a little more time with this one I want permission to feel okay with the way that my lungs burn straight through the winter Verse: Lock up the wild thoughts and tie ‘em up in a cell Tell me it’s just as well I should leave ‘em alone/ If I gave ‘em a home or even a spare measure of space/ they might take to the message’s drone that it’s fine now/ May even like it better this way ‘ with the light’s out I can see the hand on their faces saying I wish I knew the settler’s name/ when I sent my only blanket to his grave as a statement Got sick with the allegory built this mosh pit with a slick twist on a sad story bad for me to think right?/ best if I se-date while I’m asleep you slip the poison on my plate I don’t wanna eat this and I don’t like you So leave me alone Sometimes I think I could bite you You seem to know me or at least what my name is But I don’t even have a name for you Chorus: When I was little all I wanted was a big big gun so I never had to settle on a target Then I figured I could dip my feather in the sun and write a letter to the genie in my pocket that said I wish I had 99 lives or at least a little more time with this one I want permission to feel okay with the way that my lungs burn straight through the winter Verse: I spend my days looking for paper planes folded in glass bottles I’ll die a hypocrite if I don’t let one fly tomorrow Been infinite for a minute now I don’t have to fake it Found escape in all the right places Man you are sacred Tombstone epitaph running fast in and outta Babylon/ Woman you are kin to god ‘ Both of us are Indigo/ Never listen otherwise ‘ We’re the ones that see the fingerprints on a silver sky/ Oh I hope you know what you are doing to me Chewing the ropes ‘ I’m starting to see some beautiful things Tap your feet two times for no/ Or one times for leave me alone inside of this blindfold When I was little all I wanted was a big big gun
7.
Outcasted 02:26
Verse: [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8] Those weren’t chains ‘ Those were roses growing in the pavement Taken as a payment for the way we treated Mother Nature like a gun Day one as a magnet ‘ We been starting wars since before we had the hang of it And I am not the one who followed the leviathan down into the depths At best you’re a martyr at worst you’re a suicide bomber in the suburbs Eager to kill to keep the cabinet full of all the medicine Yup ‘ I should’ve known it from the start You always were the type to make a need out of a want I’m not a separator by nature what do you need from me? What’s so wrong with trying to live like a human being instead of a cog inside a machine? Don’t you see? That’s your way to hold out and not mine [and not my] No not my copy of a lie living underneath the eyelid disguised as the truth You trust the television but you always taste your soup Add a little salt ‘ depending on your mood But they say jump and don’t even check the parachute Pre-Chorus: Apparently I’m losing my mind If that’s what it takes to see the surprise on your face the day that the sun finally dies Then I’mma let that motherfucker fly Chorus: Set red run ‘ go supernova sun Supernova sun ‘ go supernova sun
8.
Chorus: We made the monsters Look at what those monsters made Verse: We were born with fists balled up Ready for whatever like we already been here Falling kills you ‘ Fire singes Fill that bag up with syringes And the pills ‘ and the knives Wear your gun belts and hide your wives We got one two many threats on our life And we can’t let anybody punk us, right? It’s a sober night ‘ with drunk intentions Filled with missed attempts at mis-direction ‘less the rest learn how to bake that bread from dust it’s all done Chorus: We made the monsters Look at what those monsters made Outro: We made the boxes ‘ We made the toys We made the clocks that make all the noise We made the sword and we made the gun but we didn’t make us ‘ now it’s time
9.
Glass Name 04:29
Verse: We’ll give you a name It’s yours until it breaks Might still call you glass behind your back but to your face We’ll pretend we’re brave even though we’re scared like you What’s the use in breaking out this far from home? [Tell me all your secrets ‘ so I can give them names] Porcelain has made complexions hard to keep ‘ Scarred beneath the eggshell ‘ we make sweet make believe until the day swells ‘ Casts its own shadow in the fallen ash Burns away a thousand yesterdays to try and make it last What a nasty little place to hide? For such a lonely little alibi Chorus: They think that I think too much about the suffering There’s some disease inside my brain They think that I think too much about the suffering I just think they think too much about their property There’s some disease inside my brain Chorus 2: They think that I think too much about the suffering There’s some disease inside my brain They think that I think too much about the suffering I just think they think too much about their property There’s some disease inside my brain Why set up your tent on the dark side of that cage? Your apathy ‘ is just a fence ‘ for that disease inside your brain Outro: All that gold dust inside those caves is worth more with a name Am I the same? Am I the same? All those thoughts inside those brains are worth more with a name Am I the same? Or am I not? Am I the same? Or am I not?
10.
Verse: I’m amazed we still belong to our fragments after all of their changes Used ‘ thrown away ‘ we’ve been bruised but got used to it way before it seemed to fit with our new sickness New ‘ but not different ‘ No It’s not different ‘ Show a little sympathy please It’s easier than you think ‘ And I refuse to be pink ‘ if you’re not gonna be blue What the hell are we doing here? And why is the fruit fake? We started the toothache Chorus: So what you getting at the man in the booth for? You’re the one that taught him to be super Now he’s just another stranger in your headspace who knows you’re dead weight so you drag him ‘round by his red cape What you getting at the man in the booth for? When you’re the one that taught him to be super Now he’s just another stranger in a costume who knows your way home so you think he’s waiting to rob you Bridge x2: The river is an evil thing Full of pain and thievery It’s got ‘em all believing there’s important daydreaming to do [daydreaming to do] Verse: Unless the river is truth and it’s a matter of breathing Feeling like it’s a choice for me to shine my shoes and march myself up to the front line to find my peace in a thunderous sunrise But times like this ‘ that skyline is wishing well glistening with gold coins that floated when they should’ve fell A hundred years and all I got is this vice grip On 16 candles burning bright as my life is I’d give anything to not give anything up So maybe fear is enough ‘ to make us Thelma and Louise off this cliff in a rush to be famous and no, it’s not much, but it’s more than we need Just undress the scenery ‘ confess those wings ain’t as fly as they seem to be Why do we insist on being bygones only after they turn all the lights on?
11.
Verse: Holes in them pockets Where’d all that money go? Followed that trail of thieves Right past that pot of gold Named all their colors, now Saw past those rows of teeth Reached down inside the mouths and broke out that joy d’vive I heard the beast sprung the bells Save his cell for quiet nights when riot lights ‘ are all that’s left to flood the broken soldier’s head Build his dam without the cracks And let the actor dry off ‘ fly north to a nice soft bed It’s all over let’s pretend we used those cartoon wings to get to heaven – instead of this sad excuse for a ladder So when they ask us why we’re low on cash we’ll act like it’s a [crime] to wanna walk an honest [mile or two] in someone else’s shoes/ So lady play the blues ‘ when you sing that morning news paper ‘ move type Letter by ‘ letter by ‘ letter by severed hype You saw us get tripped and pushed against the wall Now you talk like you never saw us fall Chorus: Why Those Pretty Pocket Snatchers Got Thrown Back Against The Wall Verse: The tenderest of buttons are the ones along the wall Nothing that gets talked about much along on the wall What a small twist of fate to paint the roses such a lousy grey Reminds me of a time before I learned to love a cloudy day I met the son of man at the edge of June He took July like he still had something left to prove Stone crazy ‘ he’s taken now to August skies to rearrange the dark inside the stars ‘til they apologize They’re never saying sorry ‘ Would only make it worse They won’t play dead ‘ Unless he plays it first They’re waiting for their story waiting for their climb and they been waiting for a really long time Outro: You never play the blues ‘ when you sing that morning news paper ‘ move type Letter by ‘ letter by ‘ letter by severed hype You saw us get tripped and pushed against the wall Now you talk like you never saw us fall You saw us get tripped and pushed against the wall Now you talk like you never saw us fall
12.
Chorus: It’s alright ‘ Your pieces are all right there This is easy ‘ You won’t even need me Nobody’s perfect cuz everyone’s broken so nobody’s broken cuz everyone’s perfect Everything’s alright ‘ Your pieces are all right there This is easy ‘ You won’t even need me Nobody’s broken cuz everyone’s broken Nobody’s perfect cuz everyone’s broken Everyone’s gone Verse: How could you be? There’s nowhere to go but right now But right now feels a lot like nowhere so how do I get down? Jumped up to the moon to just gain some new perspective Left with a death wish for every butterfly wing flapped to bring this mess to my doorstep Talk to the waves ‘ so simple a cry I could never hear Until you put your face to the wind and I sat and watched it disappear Your hand to the flame didn’t go dark to make the pain stop/ It paints a crooked smile on the light inside of the rain drop/ That’s not your face x3 I know That’s not your face x3 I know Verse 2 I’ve seen you smile a thousand times/ but never between those wax lips I’m only as lucid as your last gift At least I got to thank you for the past one last time before you traded your coins for eyes Chorus: It’s alright ‘ Your pieces are all right there This is easy ‘ You won’t even need me Nobody’s perfect cuz everything’s perfect Nobody’s perfect cuz nothing is perfect Everything’s alright ‘ Your pieces are all right there This is easy ‘ You won’t even need me Nobody’s perfect cuz everything’s perfect Everything’s broken cuz nobody’s is perfect Everything’s alright ‘ Your pieces are all right there This is easy ‘ You won’t even need me Nobody’s perfect cuz everything’s broken/ So nothing is broken cuz everything’s broken/ Everything’s gone

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released April 29, 2011

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No Bird Sing Minneapolis, Minnesota

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